Rail-joint.



L. A. ANDREWS.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7. 1916.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

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LEE ANDER ANDREWS, OF BENI-TADEN, FLORIDA, ASSIGNUE 0F UNE-HALF T0 JOHN MITCHELL ANDREW/S, 0F BENHAIJEN, FLORIDA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. July 7, 1916. Serial No. 108,017.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, LEE ANDER ANDREWS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Benhaden, in the county of Wakulla and State of Florida, have invented a new and useful Rail-Joint, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to rail joints, and aims to provide a novel and improved joint for splicing together the adjacent ends of a pair of rails.

lit is the object of the invention to provide a rail joint of simple and inexpensive yet substantial construction, the parts of which can be readily manufactured and assembled, and the severalv parts being adapted to be secured in an effective manner upon the ties;

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter de scribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the rail joint. Fig. 2 is a cross section thereof taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, the rails are designated 1, and have their ends abutting or meeting one another. Fish plates 2 fit the opposite sides of the webs of the rails underneath the heads thereof, and instead of using bolts for clamping the rails between the fish plates, one or both of the fish plates can be provided with a suitable number of studs 3 to pass through apertures 4 in the webs of the rails, and the opposite fish plate or plates 2 can be provided with recesses 5 for receiving the studs 3. The stud 3 will therefore prevent the relative longitudinal movement of the fish plates and rails.

The fish plates 2 have lower outturned inclined flanges 6 seating upon the base flanges of the rails, and the remote edges of the flanges 6 have bent back or reflexed tapered flanges 7 which are inclined slightly relative to a horizontal plane, the free edges of the flanges 7 lying in a horizontal plane slightly above the horizontal plane of the basal portions of said flanges 7, as clearly seen in Fig. 2. The flanges 7 project close together, but their free edges are spaced apart, and it is the free edges of the flanges 7 which support the base flanges of the rails below the webs thereof, while the edges of the base flanges of the rails are spaced slightly above the basal portions of the flanges 7. The free edges of the flanges 7, however, are spaced farther above the tie or clamp plates 8 upon which the basal portions of the flanges 7 rest, than the basal portions of said flanges are spaced from the edges of the base flanges of the'rails.

Two of the tie or clamp plates 8 are used, one for each end of the fish plates, said tie plates 8 being arranged transversely with their remote edges preferably flush with the ends of the fish plates. Each tie plate 8 has upstanding portions adjacent but spaced from its ends, and said portions 9 have inclined upwardly converging flanges or cars 10 to overlap the flanges 6 of the fish plates, and to hold the fish plates upon the tie plates 8. In assembling the parts, the fish plates 2 can be readily applied to the rails, after which the tie plates can he slipped onto the ends of the fish plates.

'The tie plates 8 are provided adjacent their ends or between their ends and portions 9 with spike apertures 11 for the re ception of spikes 12 driven into the underlying ties 13, whereby to securely anchor the tie plates 8 in place. The flanges or ears 10 have apertures 14 above the flanges 6, and the bends between the flanges 6 and 7 have apertures 15 alining with the apertures 14:, while the tieplates 8 have apertures 16 alining with the apertures 15. The various sets of apertures 14, 15 and 16 are arranged in inclined positions so as to converge downwardly, and spikes or other securing elements 17 are adapted to be passed downwardly through said apertures and driven into the ties 13, whereby to securely fasten the fish plates within the yoke-shaped clamps provided by the tie plates 8. The apertures 14 and 16 are preferably of such a size that they snugly receive the spikes 17 while the apertures 15 are preferably slightly larger than said spikes, whereby the fish plates can swing slightly toward and away from one another, with the spikes 17 assisting in the fulcruming of the fish plates in place. The actual fulcrums of the fish plates are provided by the basal portions of the flanges 7 which seat upon the tie plates 8 adjacent the portions9 thereof. It will be noted that when pressure is given to bear upon the rails, such as when a locomotive or car passes over thejoints, the rails in being depressed, will depress the free edges of the flanges '7, to rock the fish plates upon their fulcrums, thereby forcing the fish plates toward one another, to more tightly grip the :rails. Thus, the greater the pressure upon the rails, the more tightly will the fish plates bepressed against the webs of the rails, to

resist the forces which tend to displace the rails. V 7

As each rail joint at one side of a track is opposite an intermediate portion of a rail on the other side of the track it will be apparent that that end of the tie extending under the joint must be lowered in order to allow for that portion of the joint extended between the tie and the rail as otherwise the rail at the joint would be higher than the ing lower outturned flanges provided with lower bent back flanges whose edges lie in a horizontal plane above the horizontal plane of the basal portions of the bent back flanges, tie plates upon which the ends of the bent back flanges rest and having upstanding portions spaced from their ends, said upstanding portions having ears overlapping the outturned flanges, the tie plates having spike apertures between their ends'and said upstanding portions, said ears, bends between said flanges, and tie plates having alining spike apertures.

2. A roll joint embodying fish plates having lower outturned flanges provided with lower bent back flanges whose edges lie in a horizontal plane above the horizontal plane of the basal portions of the bent back flanges, tie plates upon which the ends of the bent back flanges rest and having upstanding portions spaced from their ends, said upstanding portions having ears overlapping the outturned flanges, the tie plates having spike apertures between their ends and said upstanding portions, said ears, bends between said flanges, and tie plates having alining spike apertures, said alining apertures being inclined and converging downwardly, and the apertures in said bends being sufliciently large to loosely receive the spikes passed therethrough.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

LEE ANDER ANDREWS.

Witnesses:

C. K. ALLEN, E. E. PAKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. O. 

